For more info on a specific newsletter, click the title. Details will be displayed in a new window.
Subscribe to
Computerworld 40 years of the most authoritative source of news and information for IT leaders.
Discount funds raise competition concerns about Microsoft
or
Other Legislation/Regulation Stories
|
|
|
|
May 16, 2003 (IDG News Service) -- News about special funds used by Microsoft Corp. to offer discounts on software and services has caused some concern among government officials and regulators but is unlikely to affect current antitrust cases and inquiries, according to legal analysts and people involved in the proceedings.
However, the discounts do raise the question of whether antitrust cases thus far have changed Microsoft's anticompetitive behavior, and they bear further scrutiny, they said.
An article yesterday in the International Herald Tribune (IHT) and its sister newspaper, The New York Times, reported that Orlando Ayala, then Microsoft's worldwide sales manager, sent e-mail last July authorizing company officials to draw from special funds in order to win over customers who looked likely to choose open-source Linux software over Windows (see story).
"Under NO circumstance lose against Linux," the IHT quoted Ayala's e-mail as saying.
In response to the article, the European Commission is considering whether to order Microsoft to hand over the e-mail, sources close to the commission said yesterday (see story). The commission, the European Union's executive body, is currently pursuing an antitrust case against Microsoft.
Microsoft officials acknowledge the existence of "business investment" programs that are used to give discounts, particularly to institutions in developing countries, and to make competitive offers on consulting services. But the programs didn't originate specifically to undercut deals offered by Linux vendors, according to Microsoft spokesman Jim Desler, based in Redmond, Wash.
For example, the company's Education and Government Incentive Program is focused on low-income countries, Desler said. "It provides access to technology and software for governments and institutions that don't have IT funding," he said.
Microsoft also has "discretionary funds available to use for certain purposes," Desler said. "These business investment funds have been used in response to major companies dropping prices for services and consulting.
"These programs were developed with customers in mind, and we have a legal team to make sure they comply with laws and regulations," he said. Microsoft has an ongoing dialogue with officials in the U.S. to ensure compliance with the settlement reached last year in the U.S. government's antitrust case against the company, he noted.
Reprinted with permission from
For more news from IDG visit IDG.netStory copyright 2006 International Data Group. All rights reserved.
|
Print this Story |
|
Send Us Feedback |
|
E-mail this Story |
|
Digg this Story |
|
Slashdot this Story |
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
All Zones Application Performance Zone Enterprise-Class Security Zone Enterprise Solutions Zone The File Data Management Zone Grid Computing on Windows Zone Security Management Zone ITIL Best Practices Zone The SAS Zone Storage Virtualization Zone The Data Center Management Zone |
 See your link here
|
 |
||||||||
| ||||||||
| ||||||||
| ||||||||
|
Download this Computerworld Report, free, compliments of HP.
Long Tail Supplier Collaboration - What's In It For You? 
Get this white paper!
Read up on the latest ideas and technologies from companies that sell hardware, software and services.
- Microsoft: Don't misunderstand UAC, other Vista features
- HP confirms XP SP3 endless reboot snafu, promises patch
- Microsoft pulls Windows Home Server backup feature
- More top stories
 Since You AskedA weekly storage column from storage analyst, Steve Duplessie of the Enterprise Strategy Group |
Eliminate SPAM, Gain Productivity Learn all about the dangers and the costs of spam in all its forms – from stock-touting to spreadsheet. Also, understand the drawbacks of traditional hardware- and software-based defenses – and the unique benefits of MessageLabs multi-layered, managed Anti-Spam solution; as illustrated by a real-world case study where MessageLabs stopped spam cold.
Download this white paper now!
See more Whitepapers |
 The Spy FilesFor Congress to do anything that helps protect consumers and the critical Internet infrastructure as a whole, it must pass laws that require proactive processes to protect computers, not that tell people how to deal with the resulting mess, says Ira Winkler. Click here to read the latest column by Ira Winkler |
The Impact of Messaging and Web Threats Messaging, internal and Web-based threats are increasing in number and severity. The risks to organizations large and small are real problems that users and their employers face if they do not establish adequate defenses against this growing variety of threats.Read this Osterman Research paper to learn how organizations must implement a layered defensive strategy to protect against all types of threats and how Sunbelt Software can help. Download this white paper now
|
CIO
Computerworld
CSO
DEMO
GamePro
Games.net
IDG Connect
IDG World Expo
Infoworld
The Industry Standard
ITworld
JavaWorld
LinuxWorld
MacUser
Macworld
Network World
PC World
Playlist
Copyright © 2008 Computerworld Inc. All
rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium
without express written permission of Computerworld Inc. is prohibited.
Computerworld and Computerworld.com and the respective logos are
trademarks of International Data Group Inc.
|
